Ramadan Mubarak

Today marks the beginning of Ramadan and it will end inshaAllah (God-willing) July 5. The fast starts at 4:24 am and ends 9:55ish pm.

You may or may not know that I am a revert ( convert) to Islam since around July 2011,  my husband is Muslim and is from Turkey, since people always ask I'll just go ahead and clarify that he did not have an influence on my decision to convert,  inshaAllah I will post a story about my conversion at a later date.

Today, I am going to share what Ramadan is, some of the reasons Muslims fast, and a few tips on how you can participate or help Muslims in your area.

Ramadan is one of the five pillars which a Muslim must adhere to. Ramadan takes place every year in the Islamic month of Ramadan, it's date changes every year but it is usually 11 to 12 days earlier than the previous year. Fasting or sawm, the Arabic word for it, means no food or drink, smoking or abstinence from sunrise to sunset ; it is obligatory for every person from puberty and beyond exept those who are sick, pregnant / breastfeeding or on a journey. Young children are invited to participate a few hours, half a day or all day if they would like, but it is not obligatory for them.

Ramadan is also a time to fast from yelling, getting angry, fighting, staying away from negative energy and actions. It is a time for spiritual renewal and a time to reconnect with God through various actions such as reading the whole Quran, seeking His forgiveness, constantly supplicating and praying to Him, and giving zakat ( charity or donation, another pillar of Islam) to the poor.

This year, I will be unable to fast because I am still breastfeeding my son, Z, but I have a list of goals I hope to accomplish such as reading and listening to the Quran on a daily basis, reflecting on different subjects of Islam, reading some books as well as spending extra time with my children.

A few tips for you :
- Just as young children sometimes like to be involved or imitate their paretns I encourage you to try to fast for a few hours or half a day.
- make something for the Muslims in your communtiy like a fruit or veggie platter - mosques usually provide 2 meals (suhoor - morning meal and iftar - evening meal)
- host an Iftar halal ( meaning no pork or alcohol and meat slaughtered in the correct way) meal at your house
- donate to an Islamic organization ( Islamic Relief) to help Muslims around the world who are struggling and often do not have enough to break their fast.
- give thoughtful notes or words of encouragement
 - read A Ramadan Guide for Non-Muslims and 8 things I wish Non-Muslims knew about Ramadan 
- or watch this video, some parts come from the Mosque in Paris

Since my daughter, F, is now able to understand a little bit more,  we are going to learn about Ramadan for the next four weeks and have a week dedicated to the Eid. We will be using these books to have a more in-depth, but child friendly way to understanding about Ramadan.

Please do not hesiate to check these books out or comment below if you would like more information or have tips to share with others.

Flood Warning !

I am not sure how many of you have been following the recent events that are happening in France for the past month or so, but it seems to me that France or the French government is digging itself a hole and now it's literally flooding. What I mean by digging a hole is that the country has literally been on strike for the past month and it looks like they won't be stopping anytime soon. Everything you can imagine from air transportation to train/metro transportation to oil refinieries - (gas stations literally had to close last week all over France because there was no gas to sell) to protests in the streets to truck and water transport,  all due to proposed labor laws which will greatly affect most French workers. I will discuss my thoughts on these strikes in a post later this week.

Last year, I shared this picture on Facebook, look at how spring-like it looks in Jardin des Plantes.

Un jour, une photo. Aujourd'hui "Spring in Paris in Jardin des Plantes" par Mickaël Voyphong http://on.fb.me/1h5krYo .

and this is what it looks like this year, it has literally rained every day all day for a week ! 

©Mairie de Paris/JB Gurliat

©Mairie de Paris/JB Gurliat

©Mairie de Paris/JB Gurliat
there is a sign that says "crue" 1910, that is where the flood was in 1910

©Mairie de Paris/JB Gurliat
 

As you can see Paris, is literally almost under water !

And actually, I thought that the flooding was only in certain suburbs of the city but then someone told me today that the schools in the neighborhood next to mine were closed due to flodding since Wednesday.  I read today that the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay were closing doors because they needed to get their valuable pieces out of the basement before flooding destroyed them. Even certain RER trains have to close due to the flood and it's making it even more difficult to get around because the SNCF (the train company in charge of most of these trains) has decided to go on strike indefinetly due to the proposed labour law and the upcoming European Soccer Cup.

So, if your a tourist or an expat like us, you're screwed, you literally have to stay put. At my house, we've been having fun making lines with tape on the floor and doing different activities or preparing different treats for the upcoming Ramadan season.

If you are planning a trip to Paris soon, the weather forecast says to expect more rain, so, don't forget your umbrella and rain coat.

Starting back up or not

I've been debating back and forth with myself if I was going to keep blogging about my family and mine's adventures in France or if I was just going to stop posting.

I have decided to start back up again with God-willing a few posts a week, I can't guarantee it but I'm going to try my best. It's been awhile since I last wrote, November 2014, to be precise, and a lot of good things (we will try to avoid thinking about the negative things) have happened since then, therefore lots of posts to be written.

Future blog posts will include :
- our multi-lingual family adventure of homeschooling preschool and "tot" school for Fatima and Zekeriya (we welcomed a baby boy in February 2015)

- a glimpse into our daily routine (cooking, cleaning, crafts, sewing, time management, 2 children under 2 etc)

 - how the French deal with certain issues (you know the French way of doing things, which are often backwards and annoying from the rest of the world),

- reflections on the world around us

pine cone flowers

Z playing in puddles

F learning the alphabet

Chocolate Funfetti Cupcakes

Hope you will join in on our adventures !